Consistent enjoyment of AntVentor is hindered by its gameplay frustrations, but its charming main character and gorgeous visual design make for an interesting first stepping stone for the rest of the trilogy.

The 20-plus hour commitment to The Pillars of the Earth is well worth it to enjoy this interactive towering tale, faithfully adapted to near-perfection by Daedalic. For patient gamers, this is not a narrative adventure that should be missed.

Tequila Works delivers again with The Invisible Hours, giving players an intriguing voyeur role in a genuinely interesting mystery populated by an unforgettable cast. Doing it all in VR is just the icing on the cake.

Detective Gallo is a comic-noir point-and-click adventure starring a grumpy, sarcastic rooster as he tries to solve a case of plant destruction. What’s not to like? Except maybe that there’s not more of it.

A linear experience where you’re told what to do almost every step of the way, Devil in the Capital still manages to offer a brief bit of fun for those just looking to point-and-click their way through a rarely-explored cultural setting.

While it takes a few narrative missteps, The Thin Silence oozes raw emotion as it courageously bares the suffocating reality of depression and loneliness, yet still manages to be a fairly entertaining game in its own right.

Dark Train takes you on a singular, confusing, marvellous journey into a seemingly grey industrial world that proves to be full of exuberant imagination. All in the company of a mechanical squid called Ann.

Stonewall Penitentiary offers an interactive thriller of murder and paranoia in an atmospheric setting filled with the tortured ghosts of its past. It looks fairly dated and certainly doesn’t tread any revolutionary new ground, but it succeeds at what it sets out to do: to be a satisfyingly entertaining experience from beginning to end.

Just like its predecessor, MIAZMA or the Devil’s Stone provides a lot of charming B movie-type fun, with a story that will keep you engaged all the way through. Even though its ending is rushed and has only an English dub, FMV mystery fans should definitely give this one a try.

With a great voice cast, distinctive visual style, and intricate puzzle design, Unforeseen Incidents delivers a solid if well-worn story of a nobody from nowhere saving the world.

STAY is a game that requires dedication, both to its digital protagonist and its puzzle solving, and features the kind of narrative that’s best digested via discussion with others who’ve played it. Eccentricities aside, it provides the kind of fodder that transcends the superficial and is recommended for anybody willing to face a slice of real-world drama.

The Painscreek Killings is an engrossing, complex, challenging murder mystery that makes you feel like a real investigator. Dig out your notepad; it’s time to uncover the secrets this sleepy, abandoned town is hiding.

Hostil feels like the bare-bones outline of a survival tale in an alien landscape. There’s enough effort and polish to demonstrate a legitimate attempt at a serious narrative, but it’s disappointingly hamstrung by its own brevity to really be effective.

Although an aesthetically impressive achievement, the surreal Karma. Incarnation 1 is unfortunately let down by a confusingly abstract story that can be completed more by just following available steps than by any extensive thought.

Earthworms is a solid point-and-click adventure across the board, although your appreciation of it will surely depend on your reaction to its utterly surreal nature.

On a surface level, Part 2: Unbound continues where The Fall‘s last installment left off, but several changes have been made to both story and gameplay formulas, for better and for worse, including an overreliance on combat that may not appeal as strongly to hardcore adventure gamers.

A challenging but fair science fiction adventure, Tardy’s unique look, direct inventory manipulation mechanics, and interesting story and characters easily overshadow a few interface and localization issues.

For a story starring a robot vacuum cleaner and a smart home A.I., the short but sweet Rumu showcases a wide spectrum of human emotions, which is a feat that not even many people-centric dramas achieve.

Its interesting story and characters are the highlights of The St Christopher’s School Lockdown, though a lack of polish and some questionable design decisions prevent them from shining quite as brightly as they might.

Although modestly designed, A Tale of Caos: Overture does many things right, including some that aren’t easy to pull off, offering some genuinely funny moments as well as some truly head-scratching puzzles.

A compelling if somewhat easy puzzler with a unique aesthetic inspired by medieval engravings, Apocalipsis has that melancholic appeal of a Grimm’s fairy tale on a rainy day.

Presented as a mockumentary, The Mind of Marlo delivers a short, hilariously down-the-earth story despite the wildly absurd nature of its premise.

Working together with a partner to overcome obstacles is a great core concept at the heart of We Were Here Too, though as a castle escape game it isn’t particularly noteworthy beyond that.

Another Lost Phone doesn’t look like much and its linearity ensures a short play time, but it has enough gameplay and story depth with important themes to be a pleasant experience while it lasts.

While not flawless and more focused on narrative than puzzles, SIMULACRA manages to be a fun experience by offering more player agency than its lost phone contemporaries, throwing players into an ongoing missing persons investigation – with a supernatural twist.

Although light on actual gameplay, Alone With You is an interesting and worthwhile third-person exploration game overall. Those with an interest in science should absolutely play this; those looking for the publicized romance visual novel will be disappointed.

I fell from Grace needs to be played more than once to get the most out of a shifting story driven by your choices. If you enjoy tales with darker tones or gritty urban dramas, you definitely cannot miss this.

The idea is executed effectively, but the game is consumed too fast, leaving you wanting for more from this bowl of rice. These kind of gameplay mechanics need to be implemented on a larger scale to make a real impact.